I notice I’ve really been getting bigger.  Chest is harder, larger, wider, but same goes for the stomach.  The stomach’s got to go, though.  Not an issue.  I think it’s an issue of being loaded with carbohydrates, and retaining water with all the salty food.  And well, overeating.

Anyway, while I’m sure eating way too much than I should be played a big part in my muscle growth, I think chugging down whey protein after every workout helped a lot, too.  Thankfully, I’m not getting any acne attacks.  Gotta love having good skin.

Today was a pretty good dieting day, more because of circumstance than of will power.  Went to Makati, and that pretty much ate up all “eating” time.  Whew.  Oh, and what do they call a Swiss Army Knife in Switzerland?

An army knife.

Had band practice last night, and man oh man, Maroon 5 aren’t shaking in their boots, that’s for sure.  Everyone was out of sync, bad.  It was nice seeing everybody again, though.  We may be pretty, but we sure aren’t talented.  Can anybody spell “boyband”?

We’ll probably try again sometime this month.

Anyway, after band practice, the guys had dinner while I waited for my ride.  They had steak at this small place.  Nothing to write home about, and not exactly the best quality beef out there.  Gave it a pass.

When I got home, though, I needed to sink my teeth into some heifer.  I need it bad.  I needed it like a Tahitian dancer needed her Tahitian pearls.  Thankfully, I still had some steaks in the freezer.  We’re talking USDA Angus rib-eye cuts, baby.  Fired up the grill, and made myself very happy.

The point of this story?  No point.  I’m just getting fat.

Well, I’m getting fat, Marc, thanks for asking.  Also, I’ve been having some pretty weird dreams lately.  I’ll tell you about them next time.  This is just a general State of the Spartan address.

I’m a little stressed, but you know what helps?  Listening to Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie.  The song speaks to me, brother.  And of course, Freddie Mercury’s really something.   David Bowie was in Zoolander, so he’s cool in my book, too.

Basketball’s been helping a lot.  I’ve been shooting baskets almost everyday, just around my backyard.  I’m actually getting really good at it.  I guess all that shooting, whether rain or shine, really hones your game.  It also doesn’t hurt that I see my brother playing in his varsity games.  There’s always a competitive vibe in me that just won’t quit.  He’s getting better.  All that training he’s getting.. wow.  Makes me wish I signed up for varsity before.

As you probably can see, I’ve sort of sold out my blog.  Well, a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s  got to do, right?  So far, I’ve doubled the initial investment I made on the blog.  That’s pretty good, I think.  I’ve got this idea in my head for another Adsense experiment, but it’s tough.  There’s just too many things going on, and I can’t really focus.  Bad attitude.  I just have to keep my head down, soldier on.

Isn’t it weird how I never post videos on this blog?  It’s not because there aren’t any videos out there.. it’s because for the life of me, I can’t figure out how to post videos here in WordPress.  That’s the first thing I’m going to ask when I get to WordCamp.  Can any of y’all players help me trick out my blog with some videos and sounds (and rims, yo!)?

That’s it for now, Marc.  It was nice talking to you.

..and no, I’m not getting fat.  I’m probably hotter than most everybody you know.

Finally got a new battery for my Mac Book.  Had to borrow one temporarily, but now I have my own to use.  Feels great to be able to use it UNPLUGGED.  Man.  The things we take for granted.

In other Apple news, they’re releasing the iPhone here in Manila on the 22nd!  I wish I could be more excited, but with the price tag that comes with it ($900), there’s really no chance of me getting one.  That isn’t right.  Steve Jobs told me it’d cost only $199 and got me all hyped up about it!  Time to hit up the local smuggling lords and get myself one for a more reasonable price.

Anyway, I’m running out of space on my Mac.  I’m thinking I’ll either get myself a few blank DVDs and burn the files onto them, or maybe get a few memory cards.  Well, whatever works, makes no difference to me.

In unrelated news, my brother’s got a ball game tomorrow.  They’re probably going to lose (if you’re a betting man, LSGH by at least 10 points) though, but whatever.   I want to see how he does against better players.

That’s right.  And it’s not just China and its crazy birth-control/over-population issues.  Apparently, Olympic athletes have been supplied with condoms since the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.  It’s all part of UNAIDS’ trying to raise awareness and break down discrimination about HIV.

Some crazy stuff, man.  I mean, this means that the 10,500 Olympians will be doing it around 9 times over the Olympics.  We’re going to have some tired athletes for sure.  Competing against the best athletes in the world THEN sleeping with them?  It’s one demanding physical activity after the other.

Well, I know one thing for sure.  Michael Phelps isn’t getting any.  Can you imagine swimming like that after.. you know.

Read more about it here.

The business world today is ruthlessly competitive. Hotshot new companies are rising up every day, running lesser companies into the ground and out of business. Scary, right? But what can we do about it? Well in economics, they teach us that efficiency is always the key to staying on top of the game. The CIS group can help you with just that.

Imagine having every single aspect of your business running at full efficiency. Sounds too good to be true? Not really. The CIS group has a wide range of software solutions you can choose from to help make your business run more efficiently. If you check out their website, from sales automation software to direct store delivery software to route accounting software, they’ve got it all. Imagine not having to worry about all the other things, and just being able to concentrate on selling your products. Doesn’t that sound good?

But don’t just take my word for it. The CIS group has been in the industry for over 30 years now, so they know what they’re doing. There’s no better guarantee than time. If they’ve been around for over 30 years, they must be doing something right.

Increased efficiency will always result in increased profits. In today’s high-tech world, any smart businessman should take advantage of the CIS group’s software solutions. It only makes good business sense.

Really bad day today.

There were car issues, workload issues, and a whole load of issues with people I really shouldn’t be having issues with.  So yeah, really bad day.   Also, gas prices suck.

Anyway, what would really make me feel better today is a lot of basketball, but it rained too, so the court’s all wet.  The gym would be good, but it’s way too late for that now.  Good thing I stuck to the diet.  Otherwise there would’ve been nothing good today.

Right now, I’m just blogging and looking at auto insurance online.  That’s how bad this day is.  I don’t have any more energy to do anything else.  Anyway, tomorrow can’t be any worse, so it’ll be better.  Thank goodness for tomorrows.

Again, gas prices suck.

The Spartan

I’m in pretty OK shape right now.  Kind of fat because of all the late night pigging out sessions.  I can’t help it!  Those hotdogs are just WAY too easy to microwave.  I’m eating 6 at a time!

Anyway, the olympic lifts + chest/back focused routine is working for me.  Burns calories and builds the mass I want in the areas I want it.  Also, the oly lifts force me to work my core muscles (abs, lower back).  The main objective is to get a six-pack, but I’ve broken it down into several smaller goals.  Here they are:

1. Wear my size 28 Levis loose, like I said in this previous post.
2. Get to around 150lbs.  I know weight doesn’t make great, but 150 is pretty good.  Abs will still be the determining factor, though.
3. Four-pack abs.
4. Then finally, six-pack.

And that’s that.  I give myself a month to achieve each goal.

I know kids, and people in general are tagged and written off as materialistic.  That’s true to some extent, but I still believe in personal gifts.  Sure, a train set would be nice, but a train set with my name on it?  Or a fairy tale starring me?  With my photo?  Sign me up for that. 

Personalized gifts are something that you can give that’s uniquely the person’s own.  There’ll be no other like it, ever.  I don’t think you can think of any better gift than that, right? 

I wish I had somebody give me something like that when I was younger.  I would’ve really appreciated something with my name on it.. or maybe even my photo on it!  I was such an adorable baby, too!  I would’ve really appreciated and treasured it.  For those of you with kids, or know kids, try giving them something personalized this year.  I guarantee they’ll appreciate it.

I’m not big on cars (I figure anything that looks decent and gets me from point A to point B is good enough), but I’ve always wanted my own Bentley (comes with a chauffeur, not a driver).  This is around 20 years and a million dollars away, but I’m just saying.  I’d probably be on the verge of a heart attack every time I took it out, though.  The world is full of crazy drivers, and it would just REALLY be terrible if somebody’s Honda Civic were to crash into my Bentley.

It shouldn’t hurt so much with car insurance, though.  It’s a crazy world on the highways, and car insurance is a must for every motorist, Bentley or not.  It’s just good, practical, common sense.  You never know when you’re going to crash your car or have it stolen.  Better be prepared and insured, right?  You don’t get rich enough to buy a Bentley by being stupid.  So go get your cars insured.